Hammerhead2501.. What Happened?

[rick3000]

I'm surprised he sold it after going to the trouble of getting a quality rebuild done, but I can understand why. He was very unlucky to buy a car that instantly had major issues. It does seem very unusual that a car that supposedly had an LN IMS installed at 18k would then experience an IMS failure.

My comments are not specific to Hammerhead, but I have noticed that as 986 prices have dropped more people are buying them very cheaply, often without a PPI, and having a lot of issues. If it cost less than $10k, you are going to spend at least $10k by the time you get it running properly. Anyone who buys a Porsche and expects the parts and repairs to be cheap is dreaming. I wish more people (again not specific to Hammerhead) knew what they where getting into when they bought a 986, because a lot of them are getting destroyed by owners that doesn't want to spend the time/money to maintain them properly.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by rick3000

I'm surprised he sold it after going to the trouble of getting a quality rebuild done, but I can understand why. He was very unlucky to buy a car that instantly had major issues. It does seem very unusual that a car that supposedly had an LN IMS installed at 18k would then experience an IMS failure.

My comments are not specific to Hammerhead, but I have noticed that as 986 prices have dropped more people are buying them very cheaply, often without a PPI, and having a lot of issues. If it cost less than $10k, you are going to spend at least $10k by the time you get it running properly. Anyone who buys a Porsche and expects the parts and repairs to be cheap is dreaming. I wish more people (again not specific to Hammerhead) knew what they where getting into when they bought a 986, because a lot of them are getting destroyed by owners that doesn't want to spend the time/money to maintain them properly.

You have to be circumspect of IMS retrofit claims on cars up for sale. We have seen more than one car that was "supposed" to have an LN bearing in it that actually did not, including one that later suffered an IMS failure and was found to actually had the factory bearing in it even though it was advertised as having had the retrofit. This kind of thing can cause nightmares for the new owners, and billable hours for the lawyers.

We regularly warn potential buyers to be very careful about retrofit claims other than the Solution, which you can clearly see with the car on a lift. Any car claiming a retrofit should be traceable; could be from service records or receipts, or even contacting the shop which supposedly did it for confirmation. Our rule of thumb on a PPI is that if you cannot independently confirm the retrofit, it never happened.

[Hammerhead2501]

Yes indeed, a $20K hit. The main reason for selling was I never was able to gain any confidence in the car. The engine failure was 2 weeks after buying the car. I was glad to find Flat6Innovations. High priced indeed but I was willing to spend the money because I was convinced the guys up there had more experience with this engine than anyone. They were very professional and did the rebuild within weeks. There were a couple of disappointments. When I went to pick the car up they told me my right front fan was not working and I could go to Reenlist for a easy fix. Seems after spending $14K they could have at least diagnosed the problem. Turns out it, after taking it to another shop closer to home, the fan was unplugged. The other thing was the dreaded CEL came on after having the car back a week. Call them and they said oh you probably didn't tighten the gas cap. Nothing to worry about. Then on a road trip halfway to Savannah I lost 1st, 3rd, and 5th gears. I hobbled the car back home, abandoning the trip, and someone on this site actually helped me find the problem. One of the lineage cables had come off. Birthday was coming up so I had to address the CEL. $1500. for 2 evaporative emission valves. One more week passes, CEL wonderfully reappears. Back to the shop, another $500. for a third evaporative emissions valve. Quick get the emissions done!!! Another week passes and the car starts overheating. Final straw.
I was at the point where I didn't even want to drive the car anymore. I didn't even like seeing it in my garage when the door raised. Thus, my Porsche ownership experience was a painful experience. Glad it's behind me.

[paulofto]

Not that I plan on selling my 03 S but if I do I have the IMS retrofit job invoice with date, mileage and all that was done spelled out and also the LN Engineering serial number label affixed to the rear trunk inner lip plus the old bearing and flange as a paper weight.

After spending all that money on a the IMS bearing, RMS, clutch, flywheel, and clutch/brake fluid change, I'll make sure I have proof it was all done.

[particlewave]

Wow!

A $14k repair bill and they hand you back a barely operable vehicle that quickly circles the drain? Yikes...

Originally Posted by Hammerhead2501

Yes indeed, a $20K hit. The main reason for selling was I never was able to gain any confidence in the car. The engine failure was 2 weeks after buying the car. I was glad to find Flat6Innovations. High priced indeed but I was willing to spend the money because I was convinced the guys up there had more experience with this engine than anyone. They were very professional and did the rebuild within weeks. There were a couple of disappointments. When I went to pick the car up they told me my right front fan was not working and I could go to Reenlist for a easy fix. Seems after spending $14K they could have at least diagnosed the problem. Turns out it, after taking it to another shop closer to home, the fan was unplugged. The other thing was the dreaded CEL came on after having the car back a week. Call them and they said oh you probably didn't tighten the gas cap. Nothing to worry about. Then on a road trip halfway to Savannah I lost 1st, 3rd, and 5th gears. I hobbled the car back home, abandoning the trip, and someone on this site actually helped me find the problem. One of the lineage cables had come off. Birthday was coming up so I had to address the CEL. $1500. for 2 evaporative emission valves. One more week passes, CEL wonderfully reappears. Back to the shop, another $500. for a third evaporative emissions valve. Quick get the emissions done!!! Another week passes and the car starts overheating. Final straw.
I was at the point where I didn't even want to drive the car anymore. I didn't even like seeing it in my garage when the door raised. Thus, my Porsche ownership experience was a painful experience. Glad it's behind me.

[paulofto]

Originally Posted by Hammerhead2501

Yes indeed, a $20K hit. The main reason for selling was I never was able to gain any confidence in the car. The engine failure was 2 weeks after buying the car. I was glad to find Flat6Innovations. High priced indeed but I was willing to spend the money because I was convinced the guys up there had more experience with this engine than anyone. They were very professional and did the rebuild within weeks. There were a couple of disappointments. When I went to pick the car up they told me my right front fan was not working and I could go to Reenlist for a easy fix. Seems after spending $14K they could have at least diagnosed the problem. Turns out it, after taking it to another shop closer to home, the fan was unplugged. The other thing was the dreaded CEL came on after having the car back a week. Call them and they said oh you probably didn't tighten the gas cap. Nothing to worry about. Then on a road trip halfway to Savannah I lost 1st, 3rd, and 5th gears. I hobbled the car back home, abandoning the trip, and someone on this site actually helped me find the problem. One of the lineage cables had come off. Birthday was coming up so I had to address the CEL. $1500. for 2 evaporative emission valves. One more week passes, CEL wonderfully reappears. Back to the shop, another $500. for a third evaporative emissions valve. Quick get the emissions done!!! Another week passes and the car starts overheating. Final straw.
I was at the point where I didn't even want to drive the car anymore. I didn't even like seeing it in my garage when the door raised. Thus, my Porsche ownership experience was a painful experience. Glad it's behind me.

And so far no response or reaction from flat 6 inno?

[imari]

Originally Posted by Hammerhead2501

Yes indeed, a $20K hit. The main reason for selling was I never was able to gain any confidence in the car. The engine failure was 2 weeks after buying the car. I was glad to find Flat6Innovations. High priced indeed but I was willing to spend the money because I was convinced the guys up there had more experience with this engine than anyone. They were very professional and did the rebuild within weeks. There were a couple of disappointments. When I went to pick the car up they told me my right front fan was not working and I could go to Reenlist for a easy fix. Seems after spending $14K they could have at least diagnosed the problem. Turns out it, after taking it to another shop closer to home, the fan was unplugged. The other thing was the dreaded CEL came on after having the car back a week. Call them and they said oh you probably didn't tighten the gas cap. Nothing to worry about. Then on a road trip halfway to Savannah I lost 1st, 3rd, and 5th gears. I hobbled the car back home, abandoning the trip, and someone on this site actually helped me find the problem. One of the lineage cables had come off. Birthday was coming up so I had to address the CEL. $1500. for 2 evaporative emission valves. One more week passes, CEL wonderfully reappears. Back to the shop, another $500. for a third evaporative emissions valve. Quick get the emissions done!!! Another week passes and the car starts overheating. Final straw.
I was at the point where I didn't even want to drive the car anymore. I didn't even like seeing it in my garage when the door raised. Thus, my Porsche ownership experience was a painful experience. Glad it's behind me.

I am unfortunately falling down a similar part sir. Overpaid for a 01 with 90K miles on it ($11,000)...now after investing another $6000-7000 into it I'm STILL not about to drive it. It's at the shop now...immobilizer board. Won't start...not sure how much THAT'S going to cost but I'm done. I have it for sell now. Getting calls but can't even show it because it won't start. I'm ready to move on too

[Hammerhead2501]

I listed the reasons why I eventually cut my loses. This is not, nor is it meant to be, anything against Flat 6 Innovations. I hired them to do a job and they did it. I put about 5K miles on the car after the rebuild. There were plenty of smiles during those miles but in the end the aggravation of things going wrong on this particular car coupled with the repair bills just became too much.
Flat 6 Innovations, in my opinion, is a very reputable establishment, and has spent years on R&D to improve the problems with these engines. They have many loyal customers worldwide and are, in my book, completely justified for charging whatever they want to to provide the service they do. After researching, I decided to take my car there and I am not unhappy that I did.

[Chuck W.]

Originally Posted by Hammerhead2501

I listed the reasons why I eventually cut my loses.

Wow.... that is a hell of an ordeal to go through. I can't blame you for bailing.

What did you replace it with?

[Giller]

And this is a good lesson in buying the newest Porsche you can afford.....might cost more upfront, but you give yourself more piece of mind and worry free driving. Instead of dumping 20k into the car, you could have bought an 06 or so and not had IMS and much newer ride. Unless you car really wrench them yourself, Porsches can be very expensive.